Adios! See ya later! Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye. All sayings that I will be saying to you, SDSU! While the last five years of my life have been great, it’s time to pack up and get the heck out of dodge, but not until you take a few more of my precious dollars for some summer classes. I have met many great people, taken a few good classes and had the honor of letting many professors be graced with my presence in classes. (Ha!) I come away from here with many great friendships, a few trips around the country and job experiences that will take me anywhere.

I would like to thank my family for their support through this twisting road of college. My family is the key to striving to be the best I can be. Without them, I would be pretty lost in life. I would also like to thank all my friends who would tell me how it is. You’re great, you’re awesome. To my professors that I’ve become close with, thank you. Thank you for all the support, the laughs, the talks and learning opportunities you’ve given me. You have each been major factors of my success at SDSU. You’ve gone up and over the call of what you need to do to allow me to grow as a person. I would also like to thank my bosses, both present and past. Thanks for having me as part of your staffs! I’ve enjoyed all of my jobs at SDSU.

As I leave SDSU I would like to leave you younguns some words of advice from an old guy.

1-College is what you make of it. Go out. Have fun. “Forget” your homework once in a while. There is more to college than grades and class. This is your time to grow, find yourself and be you.

2-Friends you make now will be your friends for the rest of your life. I know I haven’t graduated yet, but I am still very close with a group of friends that I made in my early years. In fact, I just helped celebrate one of their weddings. (It was beautiful; I may have “gotten something in my eye.” Congratulations again!)

3-Get a job. I can tell you, that once I got a job I worked harder in classes. It really forced me to have to balance my social life, school life and work-life. I know that now it will work to my advantage when I go off into the real world. Don’t think you need to work 40 hours. Five, 10 or 15 will be great, and will show your parents you are a rockstar.

4-Get involved with clubs. Get involved with Collegiate 4-H, Swine Club, Horticulture Club or Little International (there are more clubs, I just wasn’t involved in them). They will look great on a resume, but more importantly, they will build you as a person and you will meet some great people in them that will become friends (refer to number two).

5-Don’t stress out about everything. I know this is a hard one for me to do myself, since I stress about everything. But really, it will be ok. Life will still be there at the end of the test, quiz or paper (refer to number one).

Finally, I would like to thank The Collegian for asking me to be a guest writer for Agriculture! Have a great and safe summer, be proud and GO JACKS!

I will admit, eight years ago I was one of those kids running around campus with my blue jacket on. My sister was a freshman here and she took me to Medary to eat lunch. Good thing it was near the end of the semester and she still had a lot of money because I ate my weight in campus food. I participated in Livestock Judging and was a member of the Centerville FFA Chapter. That was eight years ago. As many of you now know, when the “blue plague” is around it makes it tough to get from class to class or even drive down the street, but having high school students come to campus for State FFA, Little International and 4-H events is a positive for SDSU.

Don’t know what I mean? Let me explain. Each student that comes to SDSU sees the Blue and Yellow, the Jackrabbit, our facilities and our faculty. These might be junior high students all the way up to seniors and I know that when I was looking for a college to go to, seeing the campus was a must. When I was a sophomore, it was my second time being on the campus of SDSU. I hadn’t even thought about college, because at the time it seemed like a million years down the road. But when I became a senior I went with the school I was most familiar with.

Every chance we get with students is a time to help recruit them. Sure we can’t get them all, in fact that might be a good thing seeing as we don’t have the room for our current students, but as colleges increase their tuition SDSU is still very affordable, especially when looking at other land-grant institutions in our neighboring states. I will admit, SDSU wasn’t my “top pick” for schools. I wanted to go to Iowa State. But when it came down to the cost of schools, SDSU just beat out the others.

As you all continue your education at SDSU, take the time out of your day to welcome students to campus. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the reason they join our Jackrabbit family.

When I was eight, I begged my parents to buy me chickens. Grandma and Grandpa Jensen use to have all different kinds of fowl. From chickens to ducks and geese to guinea fowl and I fell in love with them at an early age. For Christmas that year I received a book on everything I needed to know on how to raise chickens, and then that January, a box of 100 fuzzy little chicks came in the mail. We raised them and dad let me sell the ones I didn’t want, and keep the ones I liked. Grandma Jensen taught me valuable lessons like: hens won’t peck my hand off and that the old rooster isn’t as mean as he seems. What did I learn? Overcoming fear is simple, do it once and you’re unstoppable.

When I was nine my dad purchased a big, beautifully white Charolais heifer for me to show in 4-H. While she was the base for many years to come, I learned many things taking care of a barn full of calves. While I was only nine, I didn’t realize how much that would be a stepping-stone to having two, three and even four calves at once. I took charge in making sure that calves got taken out for water two or three times a day, that their stalls were cleaned and bedded and that they got their baths to make them look good. I reminisce a lot in the summer that it would hit 9:30 at night and I’d still be out in the barn making sure everything was ready for the next day. What did I learn? Responsibility and punctuality. In life, people and animals rely on you to help. It always pays to be a few minutes early, especially when dealing with calves that want to go out for a drink!

As the years progressed, we added pigs and sheep to my list of livestock. From there I had to take them on daily walks and, at times, they were my best friends. For those of you who remember when the news was saying that “4-H desensitizes kids to death”, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The first year I showed pigs, we sent my prize-winning barrow on the truck to the packing plant, and boy did I cry! I learned a lesson that is still, at times, hard for me to get over. What did I learn? That saying bye to an animal that you’ve spent so many hours, so many trips, and learned so much about in the several months you’ve had it is harder than it seems. But that is part of the farming and ranching lifestyle. It’s also important to know where your food comes from, and this was first hand training for me. It’s surreal to sit down to supper and know that pork chop you’re eating came from the pig that you had just spent so much time with. In all, it makes me proud to be where I came from.

Not more than five minutes later, I get my first comment. I was expecting it to be a fellow meat eater commenting on the truth the picture illustrated, but it was one of the few vegetarians that I’ve become friends with.

With that being said – I don’t care what you eat. You could eat paper for all I care and I’ll still be your friend. What you eat is your own personal choice, but don’t think that I’m a terrible person because I don’t eat what you do.

As the conversation continued, I read comments from both sides of the situation. I was really taking it all in. I love when people show what they are passionate about, but I don’t like when people try to tell me what I should be passionate about, or that I’m wrong for choosing what I eat.

I will admit, I have contemplated becoming a vegetarian. I don’t see anything wrong with this choice. You are, after all, still supporting farmers. I feel that vegetables are an important staple of the diet, even if it’s potatoes. I did the research but I knew it wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t take away from what my family instilled in me when it comes to the importance of supporting our local butcher shop, of knowing where our food comes from, or the dedication, time, and labor that goes into getting the steak or pork chop from field to table.

After I finally chimed in on the situation, moderating the above facts I stated to you, peace finally arrived. I learned a few things about this situation. Here is what I would like you to take away from this.

1) Don’t start a debate if you don’t want to defend what you stand for.

2) Don’t de-friend someone on Facebook just because you don’t see eye-to-eye. That’s just stupid. If we all did that, we wouldn’t have Facebook.

3) Don’t push what you believe in on other people. Instead, try to educate people on why you chose the lifestyle you did.

4) It doesn’t matter what other people think or say, because if you are truly happy with what you’re doing, nothing else matters.

5) I don’t mind vegetarians. We are, after all, human.

A recent article by Terence Loose, “College Majors That Are Useless,” which most everyone in agriculture has read, lists a few of these degrees as “useless.”

The opening paragraph of this so called “article” makes the statement about “degrees that you might want to avoid” and then lists the top 5:

1. Agriculture

2. Fashion Design

3. Theater

4. Animal Science

5. Horticulture

If you’re like me, you came to SDSU to do just the opposite: to pursue an agriculture degree.  According to Loose, he took data from the National Association of College and Employers 2012 Job Outlook study, which was a survey of 1,000 employers. I guess they forgot to ask anyone in the Midwest about the future of who will be supplying the food for their tables, grass for their golf courses or veterinary care for their pets.

While SDSU is known to many as a “MooU” or “Cowboy College,” I am proud to be getting a degree in general agriculture. I’ve learned more coming to school to get my “farming” degree that will benefit me more than I ever thought possible.

My degree won’t be useless and neither will yours. Without agriculture, where would we be? How would we eat? Without horticulture we wouldn’t have flowers for weddings or greens for our salads.  Animal science is equally important as it’s the base for veterinarians and a way for people to really understand livestock in all aspects of production.

People may ask, “Why are you going to school to farm?” Well, that is a great question I’ve struggled with many times while I’ve been at SDSU. Why do I need a degree to raise pigs? Farming and ranching have come a long way, since the beginning and what we gain in a classroom setting is the science behind what we do. We learn better management practices to take home to the farm. We have classes dedicated to specific topics such as livestock production, horticulture, agronomy, and dairy where students can learn more about the industry and how it can be applied to future jobs.

I have friends who didn’t grow up on farms or ranches who went to college to pursue ag-related degrees because it was something they were interested in. With agriculture degrees you can go anywhere from banking to extension, from farming to veterinary practices.

A world without agriculture would be a sad place. I know I couldn’t function without it. Agriculture is a way of life, not just a degree. We live it everyday from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat. So next time someone says what you’re going to school for is useless, stick up for what you believe in and tell them why you’re going to school for agriculture, horticulture, animal science, dairy science or whatever you’re passionate about

But why was this needed? How can this help an industry that looks like it’s doing well? Behind the barn doors it isn’t all Hollywood and racetracks. Thousands of horses (at least 170,000 a year according to the Unwanted Horse Coalition) have entered the unwanted corral. The ban’s lift means families, facilities and stockyards have an outlet for these animals.

I am not saying load up your trailer and take your horses to the closest horse sale. I’m simply stating this will allow horses to be humanely disposed of instead of being neglected, abandoned, abused and over-bred, which is what is happening now. This is a better option for the animals.

I know there are people who would say I’m going to “agriculture hell” for wanting horses processed. The fact of the matter is, in this great state of South Dakota horses are considered livestock. Horses should not be placed on the same pedestal as cats and dogs. This is why in America we find it taboo to even think about horses as a source of food (and let me remind you, in other cultures cows are sacred and our furry friends are on the menu). Would I try horse? Sure! Why not, you only live once. Would I eat it daily? Probably not. Horse meat wasn’t always so “taboo.” In World War I and II, it was fed to our troops when beef was scarce.

“Eww, horse meat!” you might be saying, but I’m not here to tell you it’s the new, up and coming protein that you’ll find at your local grocery stores. I’m not saying that our fast food places will be selling quarter pounders of horse. Most of the horse meat processed in America was exported. Meat that stayed in the United States was sold to zoos and wildlife sanctuaries for animal feed, another practical use for this protein.

The humane processing of horses is a must. We have a growing number of horses that are being neglected, abused, and forgotten. Like it or not, this will be a better alternative to doing nothing.